African American Centenarian Stories: Mrs. Jennie Mae Jefferson (Educator & Civil Rights Activist)

we're excited we're here at the international africanamerican Museum and I'm going to ask you tell us who's sitting before us today your full name date of birth and place of birth my date of birth okay is January 16 1928 um I was born in RP Hospital Charleston South Carolina and your name Jenny May Jefferson Jenny May Jefferson born in robber Hospital in 1928 yes January January 16 8:00 in the morning 8 o00 in the morning yes they allow black people to be born in Rober doing those things I don't know I I don't think so but but you yeah so tell us how was it now where were you born where what community did you grow up in I grew up in Burley County Place Called Mount Harley um you don't hear that anymore now because I think around 1973 we had a new um mayor to come in and he did some research and so it went from M Hall to Goose Creek so I guess I have the St M but live in go Creek um yeah because the mount hle we only have two signs there I guess for a history purpose but as I mean the new the early years when I grew up and before that that area was Mount Holly but it's in gr Creek now so now I was looking through some documentation and it said something about Casey Community KY yes okay that's a small community where I grew up in fact my parents live there so I was born in Charleston I grew up in the casy community and um that came about because there was a white family a mother and a son that came from somewhere I don't know where but um she donated some church of some property for us to make a church a build a church and at that point I was told that the existing Church was made from polls it was a pole church and so the lady um and the son uh donated the property and the um family church family uh built a more instruction and so they named the church after the uh son and mother that donated it and it became casy and it was roll in church and from then on we had until the' 70s we had a merger with other churches and we lost that area but that name but um and the priest but the graveyard the cemetery still there so we have uh and the land is you're still there so now you have family members buried in that graveyard all of our yeah many many people buried in that graveyard all of my family most of them they lived in the area very there now your parents where were your parents from original right in the same area both both mom and dad mom and dad now how many brothers and sisters I had there were I think there were seven children or six only two survived a brother and me okay so as a cha do you recall your parents your grand your grandparents and parents what were some of the lessons that they instilled in you some of the values that they instilled in you that you would want to share um I did not see any of my grandparents they were all they were all dead by the time I came so I saw no grandparents I just heard about them and you know that kind of thing um I had a step grandmom and that was only Grand parents that I experien you know and your parents were sharecroppers no they were not share propers because my let me see my grandfather I don't know how he did it but he bought 55 acres of land and we that we uh the family still have and many shared but um my home is on the um um the the no that's my husband property um my home is on the property uh that we C but part of it was soul and um a school is on part of it but we so use the property okay beautiful so you grew up in the 30s and the 40s what Reflections do you have of us for us what Memories do you have of family life and childhood growing up in the 30 the 40s the families were um I say this they were loving people that cared about each other they did not have a lot of wealth uh a lot of uh funds that kind of thing but and I think because of that there were you had more love and close feelings among each other when one hurt they all hurt no one had a lot of uh things that they accumulated but what they had they was always sharing um if I had vegetables and you needed I'll call but I no I they didn't [Laughter] call I'll share it I'll share it you could you can come and get mine um we didn't have Undertakers back there so when there was death then the neighbors someone from the neighbor would come over and get that person a bath and um they would get them dressed and then the body would stay in the house at night and they would come and you know be there with them and then the next day but we had a um a casket maker my uncle was one of the um the C coffin makers for a while and so they would have that made and then they would that person would sleep that person would stay at the house rather that night and they' have them dressing had a bath and dressing the ones who want to would come and look at them and then the next day they know whatever time they would have the funeral and then the horse or Oxon wagon would take it to the cemetery the Jak the grave wow and that was how it was done and so every the body all of the preparation was done there at the home yeah w m and you remember that M I went with my mother to many houses and you know because the person had to be bathed right and dress and they would have it like in the corner and you go and they would have something I don't know what they call it over the face and then you would go and look at them and sit with the family and then the next day the wagon would take the body to um the grave site and have a service wow I've heard I've heard people say when my room becomes a public hall and so I guess that's what they're referring you know your your space your personal living space became the public H for folks to come to view right okay and but the services were normally at a church and the graves I think was 6 feet deep then because it was made the coffins just bed and I guess and then they didn't do they didn't do the the the four no the six that's right I guess because the bo would root and I guess the the deterioration of the body would probably be noticeable so they went deeper uh the decoration on the casket on the grave would be the items used while the person was sick like the uh coffee cup and the spoons and the plats and things personal things is what they would put on the grave site for decorations and but we had no flowers like there so once they cover the grave yeah those items that would be on the top like they cover it now and then they put the flowers on they would put but the dishes that that person use and maybe a medicine bottle just personal items and that's what they decorated the graves with wow beautiful beautiful and then at the years passed you know when I I guess I was grown there there would be lots of money on the grave like pennies and things and there was a rumor that there were root people who could tell stories and heal wounds and they would and if I wanted to have you kill I would go and whatever you supposed to do and I PID the devil or somebody but the money would be on the grave and people would go there and and gather the money off the grave like they would pay the dead body to kill you whatever I want to do you that was that was the story I don't know whether it was true but I know you could uh as and especially if you were killed if you had a horrible death apparently you work with me strong as a dead person so I go and pay you and tell you what I want you to do they felt like that would happened something else the money would be all around the great wow just pay the dead person to help do what you that's interesting the spirit so let me ask about education what about schooling St um the school we had um do this when I started um school there was a at the end of my road there was a a large Hall there so I went to school at first grade or whatever in that building and then later the parents got together and built a school um right in the immediate um area so I went to other school in that particular building was a three- room um building and they build and how many years did you do there I went there until I was um um sure okay I went to high school I finished Elementary school there okay and then of course at that time when you finish Elementary School you I I live in in Mount Harley which is now Goose Creek but it was Mount Harley then so you were about maybe 12 13 miles away from Monona so the the the nearest high school was in Monona you couldn't my black children couldn't ride a bus so when you graduated from seventh grade you had to go to work in the field or wherever and that was the end of your education you got married um I was able to go to school because my mom had a sister that live in Charleston and so I stayed with them for four years and that's how I got a high school education other than that I would not have been able to because black people weren't allowed black kids weren't allowed to ride the bus and the nearest high school was mon scner so there's no way you can walk from Street to M corner or to go in the wagon from stre so there's no high school so you graduated from what High School Burke High School from and what year was that you 19 um 45 okay thank I thank than beautiful all right so you were staying with an A and chareston that afforded you the opportunity to go to High only when did College come into play did you high school knowing you were going to college tell us about that um uh I think my mother kept telling me as our girl that she wanted me to have a better life than she had because uh she was the oldest child in her family um and she wasn't able to go to school because she had to help prepare the land you know get the land ready plant the crops and that kind of thing and so she didn't she was not able to go to school and she wanted me to make sure I got an education and so um I guess that's how I got there because she was she was realass sure that they were going to do everything that my life would be better than um wife now my grandfather I don't know how far he went in school because I didn't see them they were all day but his handwriting was beautiful so I think in know white people I think he must have been a a one of the house cuz that was all the slavy and somehow he probably U managed to get education cuz I saw the handwriting was beautiful and um he was very good at singing sing as I grew up everybody would tell me oh your granddaddy would turn the church out when he walked in there at church he turned the church out with his singing so he a beautiful voice but I didn't ever meet him and so he had a little bit of Education she didn't get any because she was the oldest child and they needed her to help to clean the so so they could plant the crops and rre the trash and that kind of stuff so she had very little and this was her grandfather you remember his P yeah and so my mother was the eldest child so she had to stay home to help with the others you know that's probably clear and so who made the decision how did you decide which college or was that decided for you um I don't I didn't really decide knowledge was not easily handled in communities I don't thing my mom had some cousins that lived in Monks gner somewhere in that area and they were telling her um that when I gra when I finished B that you know I needed to go up to up another school and so I think that's where my mom got the idea and she heard about me they told her possible places and so when I graduated then um we had what was called I think I'm pronouncing it right a jean teacher over in berer county and so the family member told her to let me go to monner and talk to this lady who was over the school I guess the school system and so I went and I spoke to her and um she was telling me about the school and um and how to get there and all of that and so we decided to go to the one in m in um some moris college and some and so I managed to go I went to Mars college and I graduated from there mors college and sou South G that's right now how did you get to Morris College that's a good question my parents didn't never didn't ever have a car uhuh so uh uncle or somebody maybe two cars in a community and one of those cars carried everybody where they had to go such a community back there that's right so that's how so that's how I got there so my little things got pack and and he took me to moris college beautiful and so while at Morris College you decided to study what what's your field of study I did ele I did uh Elementary a and so I took all the subjects that made up met why Elementary I don't know I don't think I knew enough to know why [Laughter] but yeah I yeah now how many years did you spend in the classroom how many what years did you spend in the classroom as a 43 years 4 years that's off to you beautiful years yeah beautiful years Elementary education wonderful now when you started teaching segregated school or integrated School segregated schools segregated schools that's exactly what and then I started um teaching when I got of high school I went to Burke and I and I graduated in um 19 uh 45 I went to high school in 1940 I graduated 45 and when I went to mon going to talk to this lady um she had something to do with the schools and um she told me that me I could get a job teaching and um cousin of mine went with me my uncle took us and we talk spoke to her and she said oh yeah M I can ually and then she gave me a teaching job and I went in the classroom and I guess that's the only time I've been in there in a position like that I had no clue I just used common sense I Ed common sense and with the experience that I had as as a student and I put together I guess ideas and I talk the show and this was straight straight off of high school straight out of high school and and then they told me that I could get college education by going to the colleges you know in the summer and then they had um classes in the evening from different colleges in different location and so I went and I that's what I did I went in the afternoon I went took some afternoon classes and then when I got a few little dollars then I went to um moris College in um something South car wow so in the summertime and I and I if I had enough money I would go 12 weeks if I didn't I would go six weeks and the and then in the in the regular school period they had um classes from different colle just like Monday a week or something like that so I take evening courses and I did that in the 1963 I graduated from college and I had been teaching since um the fall of 45 wow yeah so when you think back over your teaching career what what were the highlights of your teaching career what Memories the highlights were boys and girls of all status and um the teachers used to kid me and said leave Miss Elon alone cuz she likes all the hoodings and I said don't call them hoodings they people who need somebody to love them and they and they all said look at her see who she's with but so I just they were like my my personal children and to this day I mean I called them my children they have grandchildren and all and I say That's my boy I remember one Sunday I think it was last year I had four four or five of them got together they were all men one Minister and they came to visit me and oh that was something I remember as long as I live I was just so happy to see my kids and and they stole my children children that's right you you had that special touch I don't know that the teachers now things are so different will have that relationship but they were special I will never forget and I had a I had a little a white child boy that was in a home I think the now he told me the story that his dad killed his mother but I don't know for sure that was right but he said his he had sister and a brother and the dad killed the mother and so something what I don't know what took place with all of them but he was placed in a home and so he came to my class with a problem and he was telling me that his dad killed his mother and uh he brought me a newspaper clipping with our lady's picture I don't know if that was a mother or not he was Caucasian and he was telling me that when I get big enough I'm going to Florida cuz that's where he is and I'm GNA find my dad and I'm going to kill him and I kept telling him you can't do that and he was this family that um he was living with then they were trying to adopt him and I didn't get the whole story but anyway I taught him and you know he was not the kind of child that most people would like you had to be kind of special to take care of because he was used to being um I think he made himself more uncomfortable with hate he just hated his dad and it was almost like the whole world so I tried to do all I could and I did get him to get some lesson and then they um the people who he was living with decided that they wanted to adopt him and um they were going through the procedure and I went to school one day and they told me did you hear what happened he has set the family house on fire when I thought oh my God what's going to happen and so when I spoke to the family they they he they were they told me that he would a family would get and he would be okay but as soon as they start talking about keeping him he would do something terrible because he did not want to be in other in any other home except his family's home so then they had to send him to an institution um after he set the house on fire and he wouldn't do he wouldn't do anything the teacher says they would call me please tell me how to let him do this get him because we won't do he won't listen and and he brought a picture I don't know whether that was of his sisters but he showed me a picture he said these were my sisters and they are in Florida and as soon as I get big enough I'm going to find them and I tried to tell him there were procedures so I don't know whether they were in Florida and now I can't remember the boy's name and anytime I go anywhere and I see a short white man with a head siep like that boy I want to think Lord is that my baby and I can't remember the name I can't go to the man and ask what his name is but I just wish somehow I could see him again to see what happened to him and he you know I I was able to win his the affection grew and you know I was able to reach him and I think I help him and I I just I wouldn't want to just see him say how you doing if he's soive so when I see a short white slim guy I think I wonder if that's the one but I can't ask him cuz I don't remember the Char name you know but somewhere in the world so but so that tells me at some point you went from integrated school I mean excuse me segregated school yes sir integrated school what was that transition like what was it what what was that like going from an all black setting to a mixed setting um it wasn't as pleasant as one would think because it was almost like you had cows no they not you had dogs in a yard and then you have your rabbits that you raising and you decide one evening you know they run around and here together and they I'm put my uh dog and then see whether the dog and the rabbits forget along along I guess that's good analogy and then you you worry about doing it and then finally you put go together and you're kind of surprised and maybe not that vicious but simil and so when it came it was you had a lot to think about and I remember when it came and I was going to the school they had it was they had two sessions and I was on the evening session so I didn't go to school until 1:00 and so I went by my sister-in-law's house and and and my son was going to school so I took him to the school that morning so to help him get started and then I went by my sister-in-law's and I said um I spoke to her she said what's up I said well I came by so you can see your sister over the last time she said girl what's wrong I said girl if you see all the people parked and the school and the cops I said I came I I went then I got Anthony um um started and I helped the other children um parents give their kids I said so my starts it's at 1:00 and I guess when I get there who knows maybe you'll be the last time you see me alive she said girl go out here nothing going to happen to you and when I went that whole yard was filled with cops and people and I got I parked my car and I got up and I said well Lord I guess this will be my last walk and each step I made I felt like G goes a Shar each step I made I thought this is it but I don't have a choice and I walk in there and you would think that you were new people just geing and then I went in and went through the formality and we got our classes started and you know it was a tense moment because you you couldn't figure out what would happen and you had to think about the good and the bad and you know and the students you know they stared at you and and you felt like you were some animal or something you know and then as time progressed and they found out that you know maybe you weren't going to hurt them and I make people laugh and I would be at my desk and if I was helping a child or something they would be behind and I would see them they would take their finger and they would come near my skin and then he Jerk it back and I didn't say a word and then finally somebody decided to let it do this when they did that then they and then another one will start and I would I just ignore them and I just let them have fun and they go around all the naked part of my and and when they when nothing happened to them then they would just start rubbing my hand and rubbing my hands and then I made people laugh I said I think they didn't they couldn't figure out whether this black would come off and so they would do this that thing and they were trying to think it was it was this skin this on here or whatever so what I did was I did a chapter on on when we went to the human body and I didn't I didn't use those words with the kisss but in teaching um using the unit on the human body I talked about the skin and I said we are all covered I talked about blood and I said if something happens what color is the black red so I said okay so if I something happened and I'm bleeding my color blood is going to be red then I'll ask a child you know what happens if something happen you red I said oh so we all have red blood yes ma'am and then I talk about this and I said and look at us we look different I said let's think about a pair of pajamas and we're going to use that as a lesson I said if you put your pajamas on you don't see that do you no ma'am I say so let's think about the skin I said what about blood red I said so we don't have any white blood do me no I said Alo all the BL red I said so if something happens to me and I need blood I said do you think the doctors are going to look for black blood no ma'am and so I just use practical things and then they start if I'm greeting peers they would do it and I wouldn't say one word then they look on the head and finally somebody got enough neres to touch the skin and they rub it and they tried to get the black off and the black could get on and then finally they realize I think well she is something human about her and then they would just run my arm and I mean they got to the place that rub my neck and I just let him have fun and so when we did the human body thing and I show told them I said the blood is red I said when we go to the doctor and they have to do transfusion I don't know I don't think they look for the colored Blood Cuz how you going to find the colored blood and red and I just mean practical things and there was a there's a a meat market in my area so I would get the um when I did my human body I would get the animals and bring it and have the animal parts and bring it and I use that to show the parts of the body and I mean it was very exciting and they just robbed me and I just let them have fun and and uh and they realize she is human she's all right and then the love started to flow and I have them now they want to call when they see me they're excited the white ones I have a white one that visited me about month ago and bought his grandson he's in his early his late 60s but he wanted to take me out I said I don't feel like going out so they came to visit me and I mean we you have some that didn't but they learn to accept but it was a it was a scary situation you just felt like any day and then my first conference I'll never forget that I had uh parent teacher conference and so when I went in you could tell that something you know they weren't happy about something and um the conference started and they wanted to know how Jeffrey was doing and I told him he's doing fine and then we started talking you could see the tightness going what happened was each day when they would come home um Jeffrey well how was what happened today how did you do fine and it kept going every day fine you sure everything was okay what happened was the child was a brilliant student very brilliant the teacher did General assignments everybody with the same thing so what happened is that Jeffrey would finish his assignment very early so you got you bored if you can't you don't have anything to do so I need to get the pencil and stick you in the back of the head so he was in the office every day and then when he got in my room each day how did it go fine and so the parents got upset they thought that I was was doing something to Jeffrey to the extent that he was too afraid and he had to say it and so we have the first conference and we you could see it but you know I just played it softly and then it turned into a wonderful a wonderful meeting and we sat there for a long and start laughing and talking and so finally was over the principal came and said Mr erson do you think I was going to stay here all you didn't think I have to go home I said well why didn't you go he said what you don't know I can't leave you in here by yourself no why do you think your your classroom is by the office I said well I don't know I just thought that's the classroom you gave me he said we can't leave you here by yourself I thought you really he said you didn't know that I said no I didn't ever get give that Au thought he said but that's why I can't leave you you think I'm going to walk out here and leave you with these people you know and then I thought you know I'm in danger every day I don't even know it and but it it worked out that they found out that I was human being and then this black like I told the children was just like an umbrella I mean a um a pair of pamas cuz if you take it off my under there going look just like yours and so I'm here and and so we made it but it was and M he said you see where your classroom is why you thank you are P I said I just knew so you gave it to me he said I we have to do it for your protection and I thought I guess my life is in danger but then you know as a years went by things calm down but it was awful you refer to church earlier so faith is a value of yours tell me about your Faith Church tell me about church tell me about your faith life oh um hard worker I I taught Sunday school um let's start with the name of the church what's what's the name of the church uh okay it was Casey Methodist Church start with okay and then in the 70s there were were four um four churches together that were Methodist within our um a close range of each other and so um with the advice of the conference we merged the four the three churches together and they became one and so instead of having three smaller churches we merged and had one big church and that church uh name is Joshua unit in Methodist Church so we all combined um and it has grown now we have a very large congregation and everything so it's working real well and so you work real hard at that church very hard that's the church you that's right Church door couldn't open and I wasn't there now did you do singing like your grandfather no I I didn't get to singing part I mean i s Ain nobody else here except me but all the other organizations I work really hard with it the children and the different organization and the church and the churches around you all of that stuff and I I'm told there is a scholarship at that church yes and what's the name of the scholarship the Jenny M Jefferson scholarship beautiful I'm sure how does that make you wonderful and I love children and my my school kids you know they grandparents now but I call them all my children the guy that I was talking about with the family at the beginning CU they didn't want black teachers I mean about three months ago he's Caucasian he's in his I guess early 70s now well he brought his grandson over and then another family a principal came came and they came and spent some time with me I mean you you just they like they like my children almost that's what I call them my children on the telephone together and and I think I was I was able to win the move I think they found out that we're human you know we look different but you know we're human and not all of them but we were able to do some of that so you are noted for your work in the Civil Rights Movement oh that was awful the Civil Right you know we had separate uh I don't know where that was sepal but no one separate but equal but anyway the first thing that was wrong the books you know we had uh series series change ever so often our children would get the completed series when the whites uh the series have been used then that would come down to our school and then on the out side of a coule was save for black use only and so if you stop by the store and the kids get they get off the bus and the black kid has their books because they walk same grade they have different books because when the series come to an end then we would get the books and I sat down had all that written CU I thought I was going to read something but that was how it was it that was you know you got the books when they were finished with it the materials we had to uh take care of our own you know we would by uh crayons and stuff and for the kids a lot of times we didn't get any of that stuff at all before they started you know with the merger thing um we had to take the few dollars that we made and F buy that stuff for the children our our schools had um pot belly stools and the parents uh finished the wood and um the girls would be the ones to you know clean the desk off and and mop the flow and that kind of stuff for a long time a lot of our schools were built by the immediate Community the black community the one the school that I graduated from in seventh grade the one gu that was church the parents got together and they built the room of three room classroom and um all degrees were taught in that building and that's where I went to school before I went to work I when I walk out of that school I went to work for the next so years well you ought to be applauded for the work you've done oh yeah but you know you the love that you had when you grew up it led to that and I just I love children I mean anybody's child and they used to tell me leave the alone she like all the hoodlums said don't say that that's all is and you just need to love and that's all that's it's it's an interesting and uh it's an interesting job you you know you get to help so many people and the kids you win them over and I mean they one or two you can't but not like it is now so then you see the difference there's a difference in now it's to I don't know how you deal with them now because children are sweet but I don't know what has happened to the ones I'm hearing about he just is unbelievable and I think it's the time in which we live I guess but before you had a few but you could at least you know talk to an El so we can go on and on and on for days on and on for days that but I I do have to ask this question maybe two more maybe three more well we'll see but I do have to ask this question you've got a grandson who talks about you often and he talks about a catering business what's up with that with what he talks about a catering business okay what's going on with it um when he was about I want to say seven or eight maybe not that old on Saturdays I for had the channel on television but I know it was cooking M he would be in the bed looking at TV and he would call GMA come here GMA look at this look what they cooking and he would be showing me what what was going on on television I had no dream that that that that he was that involved or if I was in the kitchen cooking something uh cakes or whatever it is can I help and and he was always busy doing something like that and then he went to college and I would never think the college would have nothing to do with food but he went and then he came back and he went got him a job and then he decided he was going to go in the food business he cooks very well doing forever and you had that that's because he had you as a teacher that's right he started it and I mean I I didn't think that he was that serious he would be looking at that te my looking at at TV and he go come here look at this he just loved the per and he doing well and what does he call the business what's the name of the business uh Jen Jefferson that's the mother yeah she was the sweetest little thing I you so you got scholarships yes you got you got many use all across this world your fingerprint the love that you shared yes and I enjoy doing and I still love children I mean they they just special and you know and some of them they said the rude ones and and she like they she likes the hoodlums I said they not they not holding them you can change them you can change them you know and they they have a of clinging and um several months ago I had like four or five men in my house and they were all my former students and um they were there and so they came in and I looked around and I sat and I said now I know y'all didn't come to visit me where is Ricky what Ricky I said Ricky Barnet Miss G there is Ricky B there I didn't even recognize the child well he's a man I said oh well thank you I know y'all didn't didn't come here but that my Ricky and these are grown people I even recognize him I had the laugh and I and I enjoyed the for and they have different aration one of them is Pastor for hold in the Church Calvary big church and that all they just and I just thr to death that my my kids your kids children well I'm sure that they are indebted to you for life beloved oh yeah my telephone calls and uh visitation and all I feel when my kids and it's a it's a job that you reach so many people for so many different phases and things in life and they can come to you and and talk to you about you know it just I wouldn't give it up for nothing and the worst personalities are the ones closest to you because you have to do more for them than the good ones they make a difference when you pull them over and um you know that you change your life that's what you're proud of so in close it what is the what is the one thing or what is something that you would want to share with the world regardless of what a person looks like um regardless of his status of Life there is a need for you to share something kind um something lovable with him because that may be the reason why he's in the condition that he is because no one cared you need to listen and when you see someone going wrong you know don't join it but try to tell that person assure that person that there's a better way to do that same thing and stay out of trouble and don't give up on him I have a step grandson that you would think he was the devil's nephew he did all anything you can think of he did it and he has said to me Grandma I love you so much cuz you never give up me and on weekends I mean it was so bad that I had an idea that he would get killed on weekend and so I would be in my bed sometime Saturday morning and I'd hear the the the the siren and I said oh my God the cops is coming out to tell me he's dead or he killed somebody and I wouldn't rest I would be so frustrated and his life was just awful and now he has made a total change and we talk every day and all I can say is thank you God and all he can say Grandma I love you cuz you never give up on me everybody else did and all I talk and all I did he just went right on something happens he's I love him because of that wow and I just anyone else I know I just going to call and see how you doing see what I can do for you you know and sometime people just need a conversation just need somebody that they know care about them you know because it's so easy to let a person know you don't like them that's not that's easy job but for them to be down there and you try to lift him up makes a difference you are a remarkable woman thank you here at the international africanamerican Museum we are grateful to have Mrs Janie May Jefferson in the house and thank you for sharing just one thing yes ma during our procedure our process with the schools we had the big neighbors that came out the clck clan and they came with their trucks and they all that stuff on that they had their meetings at night and all that stuff and um that was during our school season and you were afraid to death what could happen cuzz I I working when I went to school you know could come by and do anything you were afraid somehow or another God help us we didn't have any nobody got killed but they would have their meetings and their trucks and their singing and all of that during the school time but he made it you said somehow God help your faith is real you've had Fai your oh yes yes I mean they VI I mean on Sunday I remember one Su I came back from church and the neor across the street the man was sitting on the porch with the gun line across his LA and I wanted to know what happened the K KS had a March and he was out there um I guess he was saying when you come here out there but I mean I got kind of upset because suppose you had your children some some people go to church leave the kids home you know they could have gotten killed but we were fortunate that didn't happen to us but we we had it all during that perod it's gotten a little better anything else no I guess guess things are better now you know it's got us bad spots uh we have to fight it's different but uh they OPP some changes thank you thank you thank you welcome and we want you to enjoy the museum while you're here but you're going to be hearing more from us as well but in the meanwhile on behalf of Dr Talia Matthews CEO and president and the board of directors and the entire staff and volunteers here at I am we thank you for taking time out of your schedule to be with us today thank you for having me thank you